I find it amazing that the uci dropped 4x for xce when this is exactly the type of stuff the public want to see. Part of the ucis aim has to be to promote mtb to the masses and its far more impressive to the public than 1 guy riding down a hill. 4x has everything jumps, crashes, (lets be honest people love seeing crashes) its fast, you can see pretty much the whole track where ever you are and the races last no longer than a minute or so. All these elements coupled with the fact its far easier to film than a dh race and its a format that could be adopted to any track/setting. (would love to see some urban races myself.) It amazes me that the uci have just swept 4x aside but the pro tour has taken it to the next level hopefully they can make their own deals with tv and really push the sport.

It's about both. If you have good publicity, the races can attract more people, more prize money, more athletes. Imagine if there was no live coverage of the DH world cup - wouldn't be quite the same, would it?

I do work in marketing actually, but i also ride bikes. Sadly it is about the publicity without it dh like steezysix said would not be the jewel in the crown that is mountain biking. More people watching means more people getting involved leading to bigger sponsors injecting more money - which would mean more bike parks to ride and better parts it all has a knock on effect. Look how the likes of Tony Hawk, Paul Rodriguez and Rob Dyrdek are now living thanks to skateboarding blowing up in the late 90s-00s.

bikeracer28 - That's ignorant. Without the kind of progression that publicity brings to mountain biking (and 4X with it), we might as well have been stuck with steel bikes, crap riding styles, and hardly the kind of all-out dedication and effort shown above, since there would have been no 4X Pro Tour. Just more... tarmac, shaved legs and EPO at that "other" Tour...

@zire: steel is real! and I like steel bikes but you are right publicity brings progression! I think 4x and Dual Slalom are great! it's gravity but you don't need as much elevation to make a BA 4x or Dual slalom course! We are building one here in Cottage Grove MN www.facebook.com/pages/Cottage-Grove-Bike-Park/596908407004866?ref=hlit might not be protour level but it will have races and is a lot of fun and we only have like 30ft of elevation loss over 500ft but we keep a constant negative grade through the whole track between 3-7%

I prefer this style of 4x massively. I dont get why it went all dh for a while. This is what you need, some slightly rough bmx trails built really wide where you can go big fast and full contact. Like a gritty version of bmx race.

@bikeracer28: For someone with "racer" in their username you obviously fail to realize that without public interest there is no corporate sponsors and as many users above me have stated, without that we are left with a very slow progression curve. When more people want to see this stuff pro riders get paid to go out and make badass movies and push the sport. That creates a demand for manufactures to innovate and improve products. Being in the spotlight is great for the sport and all of us win.

It's super easy to explain. 4x bike is cheap and amount of people racing is not huge. People would ride 4x only on artificial tracks, which are a rare rhing all around the world. That said, bike companies do not want to create teams and sponsor riders cause amount of money that is brought to them from this is not worth it. Everything is about money guys. That is why we see coverage of road and xc races (milions of people wanting to buy lightest bike). Now enduro is on top of ripping people from money so you see this sport "blossom" in media.

Personally I feel riding is one of those sports that works better when it is underground with less money. It means more passion, more man, less machine. Less focus on science more on raw push and balls. Then I have the whole trail building argument to go into but I won't... To sum up. Less money = worse bikes but a tighter community that runs on passion not cash and corporate

@James-Carey - That's the argument I've been waiting to read. But it's a thin line. No doubt, when a certain sport is too much in the limelight, the passion does get lost under all the media, cash, hype, and generally all the nonsense that has to do with everyhing except the sport itself (i.e. the actual physical activity.) But 4X and MTB in general is a long way from there...

I don't feel it is? How many riders don't buid trails, how many riders buy all the year and try to be the fastest and train like a top level athlete when they are not, how many loose the fun, how many kids goal is just to get sponsored? It's not about that, it's about fun. I come from bmx so it's a bit different but you see kids riding park and street because you can only ride trails six mo the a year you can't get good... It's not a out that its about the love of crafting jumps and chilling with mates. For me I think we are at the point where the sport is becoming mainstream. . Saying that dh is about competing, I feel the loss in MTB is shon by how fr has dissapeared really. It isn't like it used to be anyway, and it's those passion instead of speed driven areas of MTB that have crowd the line. For a discipline that is fundamentally competitive the money is good, but for those where it is meant to be about love they are dying off or becoming too comercial

James, you make a lot of great points it is all about the fun, IMO but I also come from BMX, not the free ride side but the race side, there are a lot of BMX kids that float from FR to race during the year but racing is racing and it is all about the win and the ultimate goal is to turn pro and get sponsored.

4x, DH racing, XC racing BMX racing, DS racing, unless you are doing it just for fun on your Tuesday night beer league it ultimately comes down to money and commitment... unfortunately people get burned out because it is a job. BMX is starting to make a come back now that it is in the Olympics but I'm not sure it will ever get back to it's hay day of the 80's and 90s when big contracts were being pulled in by racers. Now if we are talking about street, park, DJ, Freeride...... yeah it should be 1000% for the fun, the love of the sport, it's a life style. IMO racing and just riding are two different things, closely related but different. You can do both but 1 comes before the other. If you are a racer winning is where it is at, if you are a freerider that races, it is just something to do.

I do think that commercializing the sport is a double edged sword but I think right now it is a great thing... more money and interest in the sport, leads to more BA places to ride!

But you are right more people need to get busy with shovels! i build more than I ride most of the summer where I live about 2-5% of the riders build 100% of the stuff that the rest use

See now I feel the other way. There are more places to ride but not so many great places to ride. More commercial parks but less proper groomed trails because the commitment has gone. And this is what I feel we have lost. 100% agree racing is about the ultimate goal of winning. But I feel to many riders get into it for the race and no one gets into it for the fun. Like the money tempts people away from doing it for the fun of it all. Commercialisation can be great if it is self contained In the sport, it's big companies like I dunno Sony or someone alike and the new red bull that are bad for the sport. A money no real Inge t for the sport. To me I'm just looking at al these dudes more than happy to ride shit trails or skateparks instead of riding something insane that they built because building takes away from be a pro training time. All this oneupmanship at parks ect. And it seems the same in MTB. I know there is some rad fr out there but not like there used to be. I mean fr seems to be dying for dh and I see the same happening to bmx trails. Dirt won't die but i strongly distinguish between the two...

seriously, just ride your bike. its not about sponsors or any of that bull shit. its about riding your bike and having fun. im not sponsored and i still ride. i have only ridden a park a few times. ride down, ride up(or push up if you have weak legs haha jk) but seriously, if you just ride your bike and have fun all that other stuff will come. plus, i dont really want a lot of people doing what i do. then everywhere i go would be really crowded. more people need to just ride their f*ckin bikes.

what those xc athletes do is just as respectable as something like this. the amount of pain, as well as technical skill required to do well in an xc race is unbelievable. it may not be as action-oriented to watch, but it is no more or less of a sport than 4x.

there called opinions and that is clearly my view and opinion also the use of freedom of speech i dont like XCE its boring not 1 bit entertaining or exciting now if you feel the opposite well i bet you are a right laugh, dont be telling me about rights and what i can and cant do who are you the next HITLER dick head, go do some thing in your life that will gain your respect and until you have felt what its like to be respected in society you keep your teenage mouth shut.

its super funny how butthurt you are over me defending xc meanwhile you yammer on about freedom of speech. you can do whatever you want and ride any type of riding you please, but don't be a dick about it-it's just common courtesy.

And if you can beat an olympic sprinter at a race with obese old ladies on your back then you can tell him or her it is lame, because you have to be the best at something to know it is not cool.
I am not busting on xce, just on your premise.

I've beaten Taliban fighters on the battlefield with over a 100 pounds in weight on my back just so you can sleep safe at night but never sprinted with obese old lady's on my back I may have to try it some time soon ask your mother if she is free this week end

Do you still not understand the problem with your premise or do you just bring up your veteran status whenever you are losing an argument?

It does not matter if you think you are the fastest old lady carrier in the world. (Though long practice of bringing them home from the pub likely gives you an unfair advantage.) No one has to beat you to judge whether what you like is a worthy investment of time.

Do you see the flaw in your reasoning yet or do you think this is still about your mad skills?

My favourite of all time is from the 2007 BMX World Champs, though it is not one awesome overtake, but a series. Watch the Swiss rider in the red and white who clips a pedal and ROLLS down the start ramp in LAST place...

they where batteling amongst themselves for first, I race 4X an some times when a rider gets a bad gate he can hang back an let the other riders fight it out, then take advantage from behind but............
this somethin else.........
mind blowing riding
epic

I admittedly don't know shit about 4x so this might be a dumb question. Is there anything wrong with what he did here? As in, was this at all wreckless what he did? I thought it was f*ckin awesome but I could see where it could end horribly if he doesn't time that right and takes everyone out.

yes it is reckless but not necessarily anything wrong with it. there's a fair amount of contact in 4X, it's part of the sport. at the same time if someone makes a blatantly reckless move and takes someone out like cutting directly into their line that's a dick move and seriously frowned upon

Yea... i feel like me and you are the only ones that saw this, this dude was clearly way better than the other 2 riders... not even from his wallride, the step on step off he did, and out of the gate he was already ahead gaining..

Ya for real, its not just A Rod and Lance on the roids. Test all pros from all sports. You would be horrified to know who is real and who juice's. Wow he came back fast from that injury and riding soo well.....ummmhmmmm roider.